


A Little Deal

by catchip2



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Christmas, Eleven | Jane Hopper Without Powers, F/F, Hopper is alive, M/M, New Year's Eve, billy is dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21951811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catchip2/pseuds/catchip2
Summary: Will and Max make a deal with each other to admit their feelings to their crush before New Year's Day.Takes place around Christmas-time of 1985.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane & Dustin Henderson & Maxine Mayfield & Lucas Sinclair & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 26
Kudos: 234





	1. Not the Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Max make a deal with each other after hearing a conversation between Steve and Robin at the video store.

It happened while Will and Max were at the _Family Video_ on Christmas Eve _,_ looking through Christmas movies and trying to decide which one to rent for movie night at Mike's. The two of them had been hanging out a lot recently since Lucas and Dustin were on vacation until after Christmas and Mike and El were glued to each other again.

“We could do _Trading Places_ or _A Christmas Story_?” Max was saying, taking the latter off the shelf and turning it over in her hands. The song “Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer” was playing over the radio. The store was fairly empty but for an elderly couple near the back and Steve and Robin at the counter.

Looking at the movies Max suggested, Will shook his head. “Isn't there something more interesting?”

“These are both plenty interesting. _Trading Places_ is hilarious.”

“I don't know. I was thinking...” Will crouched to grab a movie off the lower shelf and hopped up to show Max.

“ _Gremlins_?”

“Yeah, it's good.”

“I didn't think you liked horror.”

“Horror's my favorite.”

“Well, alright. Why not.”

Will was about to turn around and head for the counter when Max grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He frowned at her, opening his mouth to ask what the hell she was doing, but she put a finger to her lips to quiet him. She motioned to the counter where Steve and Robin were discussing something in low voices.

“I just don't see why you liked Tammy,” Steve said. “You can do so much better than her.”

Robin let out a dry laugh. “Like who?”

“Well, what's your type?”

“A girl who also likes girls, for one.”

It took him a moment to register what Robin had said. A girl who also likes girls. He glanced at Max out of the corner of his eye for confirmation that he wasn't misinterpreting what Robin said, but Max's eyes were on the ground.

“There's gotta be plenty of girls like that,” Steve said. “Isn't there that tennis lady? The one from Europe. Martina something.”

“Navratilova?”

“Yeah, her. And didn't Billie Jean King have a thing with some lady, too?”

Robin laughed. “How do you know all this?”

“It was on the news. Anyway, doesn't matter. My point is-”

“Yeah, what is your point?”

“My point _is_ that you're not the only one. You could totally find a girlfriend.”

“I'm fully aware I'm not the only one, Steve.”

Will was so absorbed in thought at this whole conversation that he nearly missed what Max murmured beside him. “I think I like El.”

“Huh?” Taking a moment to register her words, he turned to look at her. Her face was beet-red and made him falter since as far as he could recall, he'd never seen Max even an ounce embarrassed before. He gave her a tender smile. “I think... I think I like Mike.”

“Wait... really?”

Will nodded.

The redness in Max's cheeks faded into a faint pink. “Oh, okay.” She relaxed her shoulders before cracking a grin. “Actually, I don't think I'm surprised. You two have always had a dynamic I couldn't quite figure out, but now I think I've got it. C'mon.” She took Will by the arm and trotted over to the counter where Steve and Robin were discussing new movies.

The two older teenagers smiled at them, neither of them aware of the fact that the two younger teens had heard their conversation mere seconds ago. Will handed Robin _Gremlins_ as Steve leaned over the counter on his elbows. “Hey, Byers. When's Henderson coming back from vacation?” he asked while Max handed Robin the money to rent the movie.

“The twenty-eighth,” Will said.

“What are the rest of you doofuses up to until then?”

“Movie night at Mike's today. Lucas comes back in two days.”

“Sounds like fun.” Robin handed _Gremlins_ back to Will, and they all exchanged goodbyes before leaving for Mike's.

Movie night was uneventful. They were all packed together on Mike's basement couch; Will on one end, Mike on the other, and Max and El in the middle. Will and Max kept their focus on the movie instead of the other two since Mike and El kept leaning over to whisper in each other's ears and laughing every so often out of the blue. Before everyone parted ways, Mike reminded everyone that they were going to meet up the day after Christmas at his house to exchange presents and head to Lucas's to surprise him when he got back.

On the day after Christmas, Will was wrapping his gift for Lucas, a mixtape, at the kitchen table when someone knocked on the door. He didn't bother moving to answer. He was too preoccupied getting his gifts together. He'd already wrapped Max's and was nearly finished with Lucas's, but he still had to wrap the mixtapes for El, Dustin, and Mike, and he was running out of tape. “Will, Max is here to see you,” Joyce called from the living room.

He stood up when Max, nose and cheeks pink, entered the room. Snow was sprinkled on her hair and coat, and her backpack was slung over her shoulder. Will's eyebrows drew together. “I thought we were meeting at Mike's?”

She nodded, sucking in a breath. “Yeah, we are. I wanted to talk to you first.”

“What about?”

“I've been thinking about the other day.” She took a seat at the table, so Will joined her. “You know, our talk.”

“Okay...”

“It's probably a stupid idea, so we don't have to do it or anything if you don't want to, but I was thinking, you know, since it's almost New Year's, and we're both sort of in the same situation, that maybe we could, I don't know, make a little deal with each other.”

“A deal?”

“I was thinking since we're both in the same boat, why don't we just... go for it?”

“Go for it?”

“Tell them. I'll tell El, and you'll tell Mike. If you want, that is.”

“Oh...” His stomach fluttered at the thought of admitting his feelings to Mike. Whether it was in a good way or bad way, he couldn't tell. “I don't know, Max. It just feels so fast.”

“Not right away. We don't have to do it today or anything, but I just thought... wouldn't it be nice to get it off our chests?”

“I guess so.”

“How about New Year's? We'll make that our... deadline. We try to tell them by then, and if one or both of us don't, we have to...” She drummed her fingers on the tabletop. “What's a good downside?”

Studying Max's pensive face, Will came to the conclusion she was, in fact, onto something. “How about this?” Clearing his throat, he sat up straight and waved his pointer finger in the air. “Whoever doesn't tell who they like that they like them, they'll have to tell them anyways but in front of everyone in the Party on New Year's Day.”

“Geez, I wasn't expecting that.”

“Better to let it out than keep it in, right?”

“Right.”

He wrung his hands together. “Of course, if one or both of us truly can't tell them, then we can back out. Only if we truly can't tell them. You know, if we're not... safe.“

“Sounds good.” Max stuck her hand out to him. “Deal?”

“Deal.”


	2. The Lights and the Mixtape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will puts a message on his Christmas gift to Mike. Will, Max, El, and Mike gather at the Wheeler house to exchange gifts before Lucas gets back.

Will and Max talked for a while longer, passing the time until they had to leave. An idea popped into Will's head while they were talking, but he didn't know how to execute it until Max conveniently excused herself to the bathroom. While Max left, Will grabbed one of the unwrapped mixtapes and rushed into his room. Sitting at his desk, he shoved the mixtape in his boombox and hit record. His mind swam with things to say. “Hi, Mike. It's Will,” he started then shook his head. “Well, you probably already know that, but anyway, there's something I have to tell you. For awhile now, I – I've been...” He took a breath. “Mike, I'm in love with you, and I think I always have been. I know you love El, so I'm not asking for anything in return, but I figured I should tell you.”

When he took the tape out, he flipped it over in his hands. It felt strange having something so personal concealed right out in the open. No one would even know what was on it. Except for Mike, that is. The thought of Mike listening to it made his heart skip a beat. How would he react after hearing the songs on the tape and then hearing Will's confession? What if Mike took the tape out before he listened all the way through and missed it? Groaning, Will ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he shouldn't have added that last part.

“Will? Are you in your room?” Max's voice called through the house.

There was no turning back now. He went back to the kitchen, mixtape in hand, and took a seat next to Max. She eyed him. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Oh, um...” He grasped about the table for wrapping paper and the other mixtapes he hadn't wrapped yet. “I'm out of tape.”

“Oh, I might have...” She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a roll of duct tape. “This is the only tape I have.”

Shrugging, Will took it from her and finished wrapping his gifts with it. They looked a bit odd, but he knew his friends wouldn't care. Once they both put on their hats and coats, they set off to Mike's house.

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

A tree sat beside the couch in the Wheeler's living room, decorated with lights, garland, and shimmering baubles. Christmas music played from a small radio on the table where both opened and unopened gifts were scattered. Max stared up at the star atop the tree from where she was sitting in the armchair.

“Don't worry,” Will whispered up to her. He was sitting on the floor by her legs, unwrapping the present El had got him. “We don't have to do it today.”

“I know. I was just thinking.”

El and Mike were in the kitchen making cookies. The smell wafted throughout the house, relaxing Max's mind briefly. She nudged Will with her foot and gestured to a small gift wrapped in brown paper with a green bow on top and taped up with Max's duct tape. “What'd you get Mike?”

Will glanced at the gift before staring back at Max. “Like I got everyone else. A mixtape.”

“Cute.”

“I added something extra to it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Before we came over. I added a recording.”

“Of what?”

Will gave her a look, and she understood right away. A grin spread across her face. “Wow, you got right on it, didn't you? Guess I have to catch up.”

“I don't know how long it'll be until he listens to it, though.”

“Just ask him tomorrow if he listened to it.”

“I'll just wait until he-” The two of them fell quiet when Mike and El came back into the room and plopped onto the couch. Mike leaned over and grabbed Will's gift to him from the table. He opened it swiftly and smiled when he saw it was another one of Will's mixtapes. “Thanks, Will.”

“What is it?” El asked while she was busy opening Will's gift to her.

“A mixtape.”

“We can listen to it now,” El suggested, pulling the radio closer to Mike.

“Oh, you don't-” Will started, but Mike moved to put the tape in. Seeing Will's panicked expression, Max jumped to her feet and snatched the tape out of Mike's hand.

Mike flashed her a glare. “What are you doing?”

“I-” She glanced at Will on the floor, his eyes wide, before looking back at Mike. “I have an idea to surprise Lucas even more.”

Mike and El blinked. Will sat up on his knees. She cleared her throat and set the tape carefully down on the table. “Lights. We should put up lights on his house.”

El tilted her head. “Lights?”

“Christmas lights. Decorations. Something festive.”

“That's not a bad idea, actually,” Mike said, the annoyance in his face now dissipating. “They didn't decorate the outside of their house this year since they were going on vacation.”

“Will his parents be alright with that?” Will asked.

Max shrugged. “If we don't make it too complicated to take down.”

“I think we have extra lights in our shed.”

“And we might have extra decorations in the garage,” Mike added.

“Perfect.” Clapping her hands together, Max spun around and headed out of the room. The others got to their feet and followed her out.

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

After getting the lights from Will's house, they went to Lucas's, biking swiftly over the newly fallen snow. The second they arrived, they set to work. While Max and El decorated the tree in the front yard, Will and Mike strung lights over the front door. Will watched Mike from the corner of his eye struggling to keep the lights from falling down. He ducked forward when Mike slipped on the doorstep and grabbed Mike's coat sleeve to keep him from falling backward. “Jesus, Mike, are you alright?”

Straightening himself up and patting his hands on his coat, Mike gave him a stiff nod. “Fine. Thanks for catching me.”

“Yeah, no problem.” He went back to work on the lights, finally getting them to stay put above the door. They both took a step back and examined the final product.

“Not bad.”

Mike cleared his throat. “How have you been lately?”

“Huh? Oh... fine.”

“It's just – we haven't really talked much, you know, since everything that happened this summer.”

“I haven't noticed.”

“Oh.” Mike shoved his hands into his pockets. “Right. Okay. Well, I just meant we haven't talked _about_ everything that happened this summer.”

He knew where this was going. “Not a lot to talk about.”

“Are you kidding?” Mike turned to look him in the eye, his eyebrows drawing together. “Will, really. I should have talked to you after-”

“We don't need to talk about it.”

“I think we do.”

Will huffed. “Why, Mike? I've gotten over it. It doesn't matter anymore.”

“Yes, it does. Will, you destroyed Castle Byers.”

“As I said, I've gotten over it. It's been months.” Ignoring Mike's concerned expression, Will grabbed the end of the lights and trailed it over to the front window of the house. As he set them up and Mike wandered to his side, he murmured, “You had plenty of chances to bring it up before, but you didn't.”

“Will, I'm so-”

“I don't want to talk about it.”

Mike shut his mouth.

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

Max watched El as she hung baubles on the branches of the tree. Will and Mike were still working on hanging the lights on the house. “How was your Christmas?”

El grinned. “It was so much fun! How was your's?”

“Good. Considering.”

“Oh, right.” El's smile faltered. She glanced over at Max before throwing her arms around her in a tight embrace. “I'm sorry. If you want to talk about it more, I'll listen.”

“No, it's fine. Really.” She peeled El's arms off of her even though she didn't mind the warmth it brought. “Anyway, how is everything with Mike?”

She shrugged. “He hasn't been lying to me anymore.”

Max cracked a smile. “I guess that's good then.”

“Hey, guys,” Mike hollered from beside the house. “I think I see their car coming!”

Max rushed to plug the lights into the extension cord, and once everything lit up in an array of colors, the four of them ducked behind the decorated tree.

The Sinclair's car pulled into the driveway slowly. Max linked arms with Will and El – who linked arms with Mike – and the second Lucas stepped out of the car, the four of them rushed up to him. “Welcome back!”

Lucas's eyes widened, letting out a short laugh, and he gestured to the lights. “You guys did all this?”

“Yeah, we wanted to surprise you,” Mike said.

From the other side of the car, Erica trudged through the snow, shaking her head. “Bunch of nerds.” Mrs. Sinclair grabbed her by the coat and waved to Max, Will, Mike, and El before disappearing inside the house.

“I hope your parents don't mind,” Max said.

Lucas shook his head. “No, they won't care.”

“It was Max's idea.” El nudged her with a smile.

Lucas pulled Max into a hug. “Thanks. It's great.”

“Yeah, no problem, stalker.”

After getting his luggage in his room, Lucas joined Max, Will, El, and Mike at the Wheeler's house where they caught up on everything that happened as they ate cookies and drank hot cocoa. While Lucas raved about his vacation, Max sank into the armchair, guilt boiling up inside her. If she was going to admit her feelings to El, she couldn't do it while she was still with Lucas. It just wasn't fair to him. As she stared at the hot cocoa sitting in her mug, she decided she was going to have to break up with him.


	3. The Drawings and the Break-Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike tries to contact Will, and El comes over to the Byers' house. Max has a talk with Lucas.

Will laid in his bed, eyes on the ceiling, the light from his window shining on his face. He had no idea what time it was; he guessed some time before noon since his mom had announced breakfast was ready a few minutes ago. When he'd awoken, he couldn't seem to get himself up and out of bed. The night before, all he could think about was the mixtape. That damn mixtape. He couldn't get it out of his head, and when he woke up, the thoughts invaded his mind yet again like a parasite. He felt ill. All he could imagine was Mike's face when he listened to his recording. What would Mike think? How would Mike feel? Happy? Annoyed? Creeped out? Disgusted? His stomach ached at the thought.

“Will, do you copy? It's Mike.”

His heart jumped into his throat. Will's head whipped around his room, peering around for his Supercom as Mike continued to talk. “Do you copy, Will? This is important.” _Oh shit, oh_ shit. He grasped underneath his bed and pulled out his Supercom, his hands trembling. “Will, I need to talk to you.”

“Yeah, I – I copy. What-” He sucked in a breath, trying to keep himself and his voice steady. “What is it? Over.”

“Will, we need to talk. Over.”

His heart pounded in his ears. He pressed the button on the Supercom, opened his mouth, but then he paused, his stomach flipping. What if Mike rejected him? What if he hated him? What if he never wanted to see him ever again and this would be the last time they ever talked? What if he hadn't even listened to the tape? Oh, this was all too much for him. He let go of the button, turned off his Supercom, and shoved it back beneath his bed.

He made his way to the kitchen to get his mind off of Mike and stopped in his tracks when he saw El sitting at the table. Hopper and his mom were talking by the counter, cups of coffee in their hands. He approached the table, pulling out a chair and seating himself across from El. She smiled at him, and he asked, “What are you doing over?”

“Your mom invited us. She said we can play board games and watch movies.”

Board games and movies? He glanced at his mom who was talking to Hopper before looking back to El. “Want to listen to some music in my room?”

She nodded, and they both left the kitchen. In his room, he put one of Jonathan's mixtapes into his boombox and plopped down on his bed with a sketchbook in hand. El sat beside him, listening intently to the music. With his box of crayons, he began sketching the girl he'd been spending so much time with lately, who felt almost like a sister to him now. He drew her red hair, waves of it flowing down her shoulders, her array of freckles like specks of brown paint splattered over her skin, and her skateboard, the thing that made her Mad Max. El leaned against Will's shoulder, watching the drawing progress, a smile spreading over her face. “Pretty,” she murmured.

Will glanced up at her. “You think so?”

“Can you draw me some day, too?” she asked.

“Oh.” Seeing her eager eyes, he gave her a small smile. “Okay, sure. Let me finish this one first.” He took a red crayon and wrote the words _Mad Max_ in the empty space beside the drawing. He tore it out of the sketchbook, handed it to El, and began drawing her. This was good, he figured. He was getting his mind off Mike. El being here was the perfect distraction. When he finished the drawing, he tore it out of the sketchbook and held it up to her. “What do you think?”

“I love it.” She took it in her hands, tracing her fingertips over the lines. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Make it so... pretty?”

“I just...” He looked down at his hands, his cheeks growing hot. He never knew how to answer questions like that. “I draw all the time, so I guess it just comes naturally at this point.”

“Can you draw Mike?”

“What?”

“Mike. Can you draw him?”

“Oh, um...” Drawing Mike was a bad idea. He knew it. He was trying to get Mike off his mind, not think about the way his freckles painted his cheeks and his dark hair fell over his eyebrows. But one look at El's face, the way she smiled so blissfully at him, he couldn't say no. Lifting his shoulder in a shrug, he pressed his crayon down on the next page. He started with his nose, what he considered the most prominent feature on Mike's face, before moving on to the rest of his face and decorated it with tiny freckles. His hand seemed to be moving by itself, so used to drawing Mike's features that it was almost ingrained in him. He finished faster than he had the other two drawings and handed it to El.

She stared at it for awhile, her eyes studying it. Will set his sketchbook on his desk. “Can I keep these?” El asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Will put on another one of Jonathan's mixtapes while El kept looking at his drawings.

“Phone, Will!” Jonathan called from the hall.

Will excused himself, went out into the hall, and took the phone from Jonathan. “Hello?”

“Hey, Will,” Mike said.

Panic struck him like a lightning bolt. He slammed the phone back onto the receiver, ending the call, his mind was whirling. He jumped when the phone rang in front of him. All he could do was stare at it.

Jonathan came back into the hall, frowning when he saw Will standing like a statue in front of the ringing phone. “What are doing? Aren't you going to answer it?”

Will shook his head stiffly. “No. It's just... um... Lucas's sister. She keeps prank-calling.”

“I thought Mike was just on the phone with you?”

He shook his head again. “No, he wasn't. That was Lucas's sister.”

Jonathan gave him a funny look. “Are you alright, Will?”

“Yeah, why wouldn't I be?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and rushed back into his room where El raised her eyebrows at him. He shut the door and flopped onto the bed.

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

Max waited, her stomach twisted in a knot, as the phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times. On the fifth ring, Lucas's voice answered. “Hello?”

“Hey, it's Max.”

“Oh, hi, Max,” he said enthusiastically. “What's up?”

“Not much.” She leaned her forehead against the wall, closing her eyes. “Can you come over? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah, alright. I'll be there in ten.”

She hung up and wandered over to her bed, throwing herself face-down onto the mattress. Her head ached like someone was pounding a hammer into it. She rubbed her temples, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to ease her mind. It didn't work.

When Lucas arrived, Max led him to her room, closed the door, and sat down on the bed. She patted the space beside her. He sat down and gave her a smile while she folded her hands in her lap. “So, Mad Max, what did you want to talk about?”

“I-” She sucked in a breath, looking at her hands. “See, the thing is, I've been thinking a lot about it and... I don't think we're a good match.”

“Are you breaking up with me again?”

Max nodded.

“Why? What'd I do?”

“No, no, it wasn't you. You didn't do anything.” She shook her head. This wasn't like the other times they'd broken up. No, this was serious, and she knew it. “This time it's me. I'm the problem.”

“What happened?”

“I...” She swallowed, trying to find the words to explain without telling him everything. She had no idea how he would react, and it was absolutely killing her.

“Max, what is it?”

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “I have feelings for someone else.”

“Oh.” He glanced to the floor, furrowed his eyebrows, and looked back at her. “Wait, who?”

“I can't really-”

“It's not Will, is it?”

“Huh? Will? No, no, not-”

“'Cause Mike mentioned you and Will were hanging out a lot while I was on vacation, so I wondered if...”

“No, Lucas, it's not Will.”

“Oh, okay. I mean, it would be totally fine if it was, but I don't know if you're really Will's type.”

“I know I'm not his type, and he's not mine. It's not him I have feelings for, Lucas.” She held back a laugh. Never in a million years did she think someone would suspect her and Will having feelings for each other. Somehow, that never occurred to her.

“Alright, then who is it?”

“It's-” She bit her lip. Should she say it? Could she trust him?

“Is it Dustin?”

“No, Lucas.”

“Mike?”

Max guffawed. “No way!”

Lucas shrugged. “Yeah, I didn't think so, but who is it then? Did you meet some other guy in our class?”

“No.”

“Then... who is it?” He didn't sound malicious, Max noted. Just curious.

“It's not...” Her stomach twisted tighter. “It's – it's not a guy.”

Lucas blinked, going quiet. His eyebrows drew together. “... Eleven?”

“Yeah.”

He sat, tilting his head to the side as he stared at the ground. “How long have you liked her?”

“Well... since this past summer, I think.” She reached out and took Lucas's hand gently. “I'm sorry, Lucas.”

“There's no need to be sorry, Max.” He looked up into her eyes. “Really. Feelings change, people grow. I understand.”

“You're not angry?”

He shook his head. “Of course not. I'm actually glad you told me.” He nudged her, grinning. “Now I can be your wingman.”

“Wingman for what?”

“You know, telling El how you feel about her. If you're planning on doing that, that is.”

Max let out a breathless laugh. “Oh, man, I really should, but I don't know how I'm going to get around Mike. Doesn't that seem like a shitty thing to do?”

“What? Tell her how you feel?”

“Yes. She's dating Mike, and they're our friends. It just doesn't feel right.”

Lucas shrugged. “I guess so, but if you're doing it only to tell her, and not to be with her, isn't that a bit different? Telling her how much she means to you without forcing her to feel it back.”

“Telling her just to tell her?”

“Exactly.”


	4. The Blizzard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A blizzard leaves El stuck at Will's house, but they get an unexpected visitor in the middle of the night. Max has a talk with El.

El and Hopper stayed for dinner, but Will wasn't sure how to feel about it. Ever since his mom and Hopper started spending more time together – _dating_ , he guessed he should call it – he saw less of his mom, and when he did see her, she didn't seem bothered about Will's whereabouts. Whether that had anything to do with Hopper, he had no idea, but he was both thankful and strangely unnerved by it. He knew Jonathan wasn't too fond of their mom going out with Hopper. He'd been that way with Bob as well, but knowing Hopper like they did, it felt a bit odd. He kept catching Jonathan eyeing Hopper from across the table as they ate, a frown on his face. When Jonathan noticed Will staring at him, he threw a brussels sprout at his plate.

After dinner, Hopper and Joyce were cleaning the dishes while Will, El, and Jonathan played cards in the living room. El and Hopper were supposed to leave in a few minutes, but the wind was blowing in gusts against the house, howling like some undead creature. Will and El peered out the window. All they could see was white.

Jonathan looked over their heads from behind them. “Doesn't look like you'll be leaving for awhile.”

Joyce came out of the kitchen and looked out the front door. “It's a blizzard out there.” She called to Hopper, “Maybe you should stay over until it clears up.”

“I can make some hot cocoa,” Jonathan suggested, going into the kitchen and turning on the stove.

Joyce gestured to the VHS tapes by the television. “Will and El, why don't you two pick out a movie to watch?”

They got up from the couch and sifted through the movies. There wasn't much. After a good ten minutes of looking around, they stuck _The Outsiders_ in the VCR and gathered on the couch. Jonathan joined them soon after, giving them each a mug of hot cocoa.

Once the movie ended, they continued to play cards until they got too bored with it and started surfing channels on the television. The wind was still howling, louder than previously, and nothing could be seen out the window but snow.

It was nearing one in the morning. Hopper and Joyce had already gone off to bed, and Will, Jonathan, and El – all of them bundled up in blankets – were watching Rudolph's Shiny New Year on the television. El rested her head on Will's shoulder while he rested his cheek on the top of her head. His eyelids were growing heavy, and he knew he was about to fall asleep any second now, his mind weaving in and out of consciousness.

He jolted up when someone began knocking on the front door. El tensed on his shoulder. The knocking stopped for a second before starting up again even louder. Jonathan hopped off the couch, went over to the door, and threw it open. He paused a moment, then uttered, “Mike?”

Will and El both sat up and peered towards the doorway. They couldn't see Mike from where they were sitting, but they heard his voice. “Hi, I was looking for-” He came into view as he peaked his head through the doorway and spotted Will and El on the couch. “Um, yeah. Can I come in?”

Jonathan closed the door behind Mike. Mike stood in the middle of the room, looking out of place, shivering and rubbing his gloved hands together. His face was bright red and snow covered him from head to toe.

“What are you doing here?” Will asked, getting up off the couch and approaching him cautiously.

“I was looking for-” He glanced between the two of them, then gestured to El. “You weren't home, so I figured I'd stop by here.”

El furrowed her eyebrows.

“It's a literal blizzard out there, Mike,” Will said.

Footsteps sounded from the hall, and Joyce came into the room. “Mike? What on earth are you doing here? Did you come here by yourself?”

“Oh. Yeah, I biked here.”

“Does Karen know you're here?”

He shook his head. Joyce sighed and dialed up the phone. “Karen? Hi, it's Joyce. I wanted to let you know that Mike is here at our house... Yeah, he came on his bike... No, you don't have to. It's too dangerous right now... He can stay over... Hopper can take him home tomorrow morning... Okay, alright. Bye, Karen.” She looked back to Mike. “Looks like you're sleeping over. I'll get some blankets, and you, Will, and El can sleep in here.” She left the room quickly.

“Mike.” Will turned to him. “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn't find El at the cabin.”

Will gave him a funny look, and he noticed El did as well. Jonathan gestured to Mike's clothes. “Why don't you take off your coat and shoes? I'll get you a towel to dry off.”

Jonathan left the room. Mike stood, stripping off his coat, hat, and gloves which left a good deal of snow puddles on the floor. Will and El watched him awkwardly, not sure of what to do. After he took off his boots, leaving his pile of wet clothes on the floor, he plodded over to Will and El, hugging himself. “Sorry to intrude,” Mike said.

Jonathan came back with a towel, handing it to Mike, and mumbling that he was going to get some sleep before heading off to his room. Joyce came with some blankets, kissed Will goodnight, and went to bed as well.

“You came all the way here in the middle of a blizzard to talk to El?” Will asked. He honestly couldn't comprehend the idea. Glancing over at El, she looked just as shocked and confused as he was.

“I have something important I have to tell her.” Mike gave Will a tilt of the head which Will responded to by rolling his eyes and excusing himself to the bathroom.

He would have eavesdropped on their conversation, but they were talking in such low, hushed voices, it was nearly impossible. He was able to make out the words “loved” and “talk” but that was it. When their whispering stopped, and Mike knocked on the bathroom door, Will was forced to join them in the living room as if nothing had happened. He took a seat next to El on the couch but was surprised when Mike plopped himself down beside him instead of on the other side of El, leaving Will sandwiched in between the two of them. Rudolph's Shiny New Year was still playing on the television.

“What are your plans for tomorrow?” Mike said to no one in particular.

When El didn't answer, Will said, “Dustin's coming back at four, right?”

Mike nodded.

“So, two at his house, right?”

He nodded again.

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

Max woke with a start. She wasn't sure what woke her, but she had the feeling it had something to do with wind roaring outside her window. Glancing at her alarm clock, she saw it was four in the morning.

Feeling the need to talk to someone, she grabbed her Supercom from her nightstand. “Hey, Will, do you copy? It's Max. Are you awake?”

When he didn't answer, she figured he must be asleep and decided to radio Lucas instead. “Hey, stalker, you there?”

He didn't answer, so she got back under the covers with a comic book and flipped through a couple pages, but she couldn't seem to concentrate. Getting bored, she tried Will again. “Will, do you copy? If you're awake, which I'm assuming you're not since you won't answer, then say something.”

Silence. She sighed and went back to staring at her comic.

“Max? Hello? It's El.” Blinking, Max looked at her Supercom in astonishment. “Max, are you there?”

Max grabbed up her Supercom quickly. “El? What's going on?”

“I couldn't sleep.”

“Oh, yeah, me neither.”

“How is everything?”

“It's fine.”

“How's Billy's dad?”

Max took a breath. “Alright. As long as I stay out of his way when he's in a mood, then I'm fine.” She swallowed. “How about Hopper? How's he handling you and Mike?”

“He's been less angry than he was before.”

“That's good.”

There was a long pause. Max figured she should say something, but before she could, El asked, “You're close with Will, aren't you?”

Max sat up, wondering what this was about. “I'd say so, yes. As close as we can be since we only really became good friends recently.”

“Has he told you about Castle Byers?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don't know.” She sighed. “Mike said something happened to Castle Byers during the summer.”

“Castle Byers... that's Will's little hideout, isn't it?”

“I think so.”

“Well, what did Mike say happened?”

“It broke.”

“It broke? Like, during a storm or something?”

“I don't know. He didn't say.”

“That's weird. Do you know if Will's upset?”

“Not sure.”

Max made a mental note to talk to Will about it. “Listen,” Max said, holding her blanket to her chest, “do you want to do something tomorrow? Before we meet up with everyone at Dustin's, I mean.”

“Sure! What were you thinking?”

“How about a matinee? At the theatre downtown?”

“Matinee?”

“Yeah, a movie. At noon.”

“Okay.”

There was a commotion on El's end. “What was that?” Max asked.

“I'm sorry,” El said quickly. “I've gotta go.”

The Supercom went silent. Max stared at it in her hands, wondering if she should wait to get in touch with El again or go to sleep. She decided on the latter.

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

Will yawned as he poured a glass of water. A nightmare had jolted him awake, so going into the kitchen to calm down seemed a reasonable idea rather than waking everyone up around him with his gasping. He sipped the water and rubbed his eyes. The house was dead silent. Still as a statue. Through the window, he watched the snow fall.

“You're awake?”

Will jumped at Mike's voice behind him, whipping around to look at him. His hair stuck up in every direction and there were bags underneath his eyes. “You, too?”

“Barely slept at all.” Mike cleared his throat, taking a seat at the table and staring up at Will. “I'm sorry we haven't hung out much over the break. I've had a lot on my plate lately.”

“It's fine. Want some water?”

“Sure.” Will filled a glass and handed it to him before leaning back against the counter. “Did you listen to the mixtape I gave you yet?”

Mike sipped the water. “Not yet.”

“Oh, well... there's some stuff on it which I really think you should hear.”

“Okay, I'll listen to it as soon as I can.” As Mike continued to drink his water, Will wondered what he meant by having a lot on his plate lately. Did he mean his relationship with El?

Will flinched when Mike stood abruptly, glass in hand, the chair screeching on the tiles. “So, are we just not going to talk about how you ignored me?”

“What?”

“My phone calls? The Supercom? Why did you hang up? How come you wouldn't answer me?”

Will stared wide-eyed at him. Mike had a hard scowl on his face, his eyebrows drawn together and his nose scrunched up. Will took a sip of water, trying to come up with an excuse. “I... the phone calls? Our phone went dead. Sorry.”

“What about the Supercom? I told you I wanted to talk.”

“Oh, that. My mom told me I had to get some food from the grocery store with Jonathan, so I had to go.” He didn't even know where these lies were coming from, and he knew from Mike's expression that he wasn't buying them. Will cleared his throat before Mike could say anything. “What was it you had to talk to me about?”

The scowl vanished. “Oh, right. My mom wanted to know if you – you, your mom, and Jonathan – want to come over for New Year's Eve. A party or whatever.”

“A party?”

“Yeah.”

Will lifted a shoulder. “I'll have to ask my mom, but she'll probably say yes.”

“Alright, good.” Mike gave him a hard stare. “You know you can tell me anything, Will. Crazy together, remember?”

“I remember.”

“Then why are you avoiding-” Mike went to put the glass down on the table, but he missed, and it fell off, shattering on the tile floor. “Shit!” Mike flinched back when the water splashed over his feet.

He made to move, but Will stuck his hand up. “No, wait!” He gestured to the floor. “The glass. It'll cut you.” He ducked underneath the sink and got out a dust pan and hand broom, rushing to sweep up the glass. A light turned on in his mom's bedroom, and footsteps sounded from behind the door. Will looked up at Mike. “Alright, you can move now. Just be careful.”

Mike stepped backwards on the tips of his toes. Everyone seemed to come in the kitchen at once; Joyce rushed in, eyes wide, from her bedroom along with Hopper while El wandered in from Will's bedroom, and Jonathan came in from his own room. “What's going on? What happened?” Joyce asked, and seeing Will emptying the dust pan into the trash and the puddle of water on the floor, she went over to him. “Are you alright? Did something break?”

“I'm fine,” he said. “It was just a glass of water. I'll wipe it up.”

Mike shook his head. “No, I'll clean it. I was the one who dropped it.”

“What are you doing up still?” Joyce asked. “I thought you three went to bed.”

“Yeah, but I got thirsty,” Will said. Mike ducked behind him, grabbed a towel off the counter, and knelt down to wipe up the spilt water.

Hopper, who seemed half asleep anyway, wandered back into Joyce's room. Jonathan stared after him, his arms crossed, but he faked a smile when Joyce kissed him on the cheek before going to bed herself. He nudged Will. “What do you think about that?”

Will shrugged. “I don't know. I don't care.”

“Really?”

“Better than some.”

“Worse than some.”

All Will could do was shrug back. Jonathan sighed, gave the three of them a dramatic wave, and went back to his room to sleep. While Mike finished wiping up the water, Will studied El for a second. “What were you doing in my room?” he asked.

El looked at him. “Looking at your drawings.”

“In the middle of the night?”

“Couldn't sleep.”

He couldn't tell if she was hiding anything or not. Looking at his drawings in the middle of the night? He hadn't even noticed her go in his room. He looked back to Mike who was now standing next to the spot he'd spilled the glass. “I think we should try to get some sleep.”


	5. The Snowmen and the Matinee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max waits at the theatre for El. Mike and El disappear from Will's house, and they welcome Dustin home.

Max waited for El outside the movie theatre at twelve on the dot. Her heart was racing, and though she knew El wouldn't think anything of this, Max couldn't help but be overjoyced. She knew this was the moment she should tell her. After the movie, she decided. _Tell her just to tell her_.

She paced back and forth while she waited. Her ears tingled from the frigid air, so she pulled her hat farther down on her head. When fifteen minutes passed and El still hadn't shown up, Max wondered if she'd dreamt up their entire conversation the night before. She kicked at a chunk of sleet on the pavement. Had El gotten confused and thought she meant _tomorrow_ instead of today? Watching a couple walk into the theatre, she decided to give El the benefit of the doubt and wait a while longer.

Forty-five minutes passed before Max wandered away from the theatre. So much for the matinee.

She took a walk past the stores for a while until she happened upon the _Family Video_ and went inside. It was quiet, holiday music playing in the background. She approached the counter where Robin was sorting through some movies. “Where's Steve?” Max asked her, leaning her elbows onto the counter.

Robin glanced up from the movies. “Sick day. Turns out, walking out in a blizzard without a winter coat on isn't the smartest idea.”

Max laughed. “I'm not surprised.”

“Were you looking for any specific movies?”

Shaking her head, she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Just looking for Steve.” She turned around and headed for the door but halted before she reached it.

Max spun around and went back to the counter. After glancing about the store to make sure no one else was there, she said in a low voice, “How can you tell if a girl likes you?”

Robin raised her eyebrows. “Um... what girl are we referring to?”

“Eleven.”

“Well...” Robin's eyebrows drew together, and she tapped her fingers on the counter. “I would look for signs. Sometimes it's obvious. And if you're still stumped, and if she's your friend – a close friend that you can trust – I'd ask her.”

“What if you asked her to hang out, and she stood you up without any explanation?”

“Is that what happened?”

“It's hypothetical.”

Robin chewed her lip. “Alright, like I said for the first question: ask her. Clear things up. Miscommunication is usually what screws things up when they don't have to be.”

Max drummed her fingers on the counter before giving Robin a curt nod. “Thanks for the advice. I'll see you later.” She left the store and headed to El's cabin to see if anything was wrong. Maybe El was sick or overslept or any number of possibilities. But after a couple minutes of knocking on the door and attempting to peer in through the windows, she realized no one was home.

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

The light from the window shone onto Will's face and woke him up. He groaned, rubbed his eyes, and patted the area of blankets next to him to wake up Mike. The floor was empty. He glanced around and realized both El and Mike were gone and the blankets they'd slept with had been tossed on the couch. He hopped to his feet and went into the kitchen where Joyce and Hopper were talking with coffee mugs in their hands. “Hi, sweetie,” Joyce said when Will came in.

“Where'd Mike and El go?”

“Oh, they said they were going to Dustin's early.” She frowned. “I thought they told you.”

Will sighed. “No. No, they didn't.” He stormed off to his room and turned on his Supercom. “Max, do you copy? Max? Max, it's Will. Do you copy?”

“Yeah, I copy. What's up?”

“Can we meet up right now? Before we have to go to Dustin's? Over.”

“Is everything alright?”

“I don't know. Over.”

“Should I come over?”

“Can I go to your's?”

“Oh, um... maybe not now. Neil's home, and I don't think he'd like if he saw me with any boys.”

“Oh, right. My house it is then? Over.”

She hummed quietly before saying, “Okay, I'll be there in ten.”

She got there in five, tossing her bike in the snow and following Will inside to his room. “What's going on, Will?”

They sat on the bed and lowered their voices. “El and Mike stayed over here last night.”

“They did? Why?”

“El did 'cause my mom invited her and Hopper over, and then they couldn't leave because of the blizzard. Mike, though, he just appeared in the middle of the night.”

“In the middle of a blizzard? What, on his bike?”

“Yeah, on his bike.”

“Why the hell did he do that?” Then, her eyes lit up. “Wait, did he hear your mixtape?”

“No, he said he didn't yet. That's what was so weird. Apparently, he just came to find El.”

“Maybe he lied. He probably saw El and decided not to tell you.”

“But they were both gone when I woke up today. My mom said they went to Dustin's early.”

“Maybe you should ask Mike about it.”

Will let out a ragged breath. “I never should've given him that mixtape. God, I'm so stupid.”

“Hey.” Max slid an arm around his shoulders and squeezed them. “No, you're not. You're the smartest person I know. Well, except for me, of course.”

They both laughed before Max gave him a serious look. “El and I were going to meet up about an hour ago at the movie theatre to see a matinee, but she didn't show. Then I checked at the cabin, but no one answered. You think her and Mike really just went to Dustin's early?”

“There's only one way to find out.”

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

They arrived at Dustin's house at the same time Lucas did, Mike and El nowhere in sight. They hid their bikes by the side of the house before going back to the front yard and glancing about. “Where could they be?” Will asked.

Lucas looked at him. “Mike and El? I'm sure they're on their way. It's only a few minutes after two.”

Nudging Lucas, Max shook her head. “See, the thing is, Mike and El both stayed at Will's last night during the blizzard. Snowed in and everything. They left his house without telling him, and his mom said they told her they were coming here, to Dustin's, early. Now, do you see them anywhere? Because I don't.”

Before Lucas could say a thing, Mike and El barreled over to them on Mike's bike. Their faces were flushed, red as roses, and both of them were panting, out of breath.

“Sorry,” Mike huffed. “We were just-”

“I thought you came here early,” Will said.

Mike frowned. “Yeah. We did, we were just...” He reached into his backpack and fished out a couple of large carrots. “...getting these.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow. “For what reason?”

“Snowmen,” El said with a smile.

“So that's the plan?” Will asked. “Build snowmen?”

“Yeah, and we can write 'Welcome Home, Dustin' in the snow.” Will, Max, and Lucas glanced to each other then shrugged.

“Sounds good,” Lucas said. Before they set to work, El gave Max a quick hug but didn't follow up with an apology or an explanation for why she stood her up earlier that morning. As they began gathering snow, Max kept a close eye on how El was acting. Something about that hug threw Max off. If El had stood her up knowingly, she wouldn't have greeted her as if nothing happened. Then again, she didn't usually greet her with a hug at all.

Max was gathering snow for the head of one of the snowmen when Lucas came up to her side. “Did you tell her?” he whispered.

Her eyebrows drew together. “No.”

“Well, why not?”

“Is there a rush, stalker?”

He chuckled. “No rush. I just thought you were one to take charge. Tell people what's on your mind.”

“Obviously, you don't know me.” She pounded the snow in her hands into a ball and stormed over to the snowman, smashing the ball of snow on top of it.

“Max!” Both Lucas and Will said as the middle section of the snowman crumbled in half. The two boys rushed to gather the snow back together.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, watching El help Mike with the other snowman. “I got distracted.”

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

Will stayed as far from Mike as he could the whole time they were making the snowmen. Mike kept walking over to him, but each time, he ducked away to either gather snow or help out Max, Lucas, or El. He knew it was pissing Mike off because by the time the two snowmen were finished, Mike brushed El's hand away when she put it on his shoulder, a scowl on his face.

While they were awaiting Dustin's arrival, Max pulled him aside. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, of course,” Will said. “What is it?”

“Did something happen to Castle Byers?”

Will furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“El, she said Mike mentioned Castle Byers broke over the summer? I was just curious why you never said anything.”

Mike told El about Castle Byers? What made him think he had the right? Annoyance boiled up inside him. “It's not important.”

“Really? I thought Castle Byers was your safe place.”

“It's not your business, Max,” he hissed. He didn't want to get into it with her. Yes, he knew she would understand, but thinking back to that day in the summer when he destroyed the one place he went to to feel safe after his stupid fight with Mike... he couldn't. He couldn't say a thing to her. Not now.

“Will, you can talk to me. You know that, right?” Her voice was sincere, calm.

He nodded, his cheeks growing hot from embarrassment, not meeting her eyes. “I know. Of course I know. Just give me some time. Okay?”

“Okay.” She bit her lip, squeezing Will's arm. “ Better to let it out than keep it in, though. Right?”

He gave her a smile. “Right.”

They rejoined the others, and Dustin arrived shortly after. When his car pulled into the driveway, everyone ran up to him, cheering “Welcome back!”

Dustin stepped out and gaped at the snowmen. “When did you do this?”

“Today,” El said. “It snowed all night.”

“Yeah, there was a huge blizzard,” Lucas said.

After Dustin unpacked, they all gathered in his living room to listen to his vacation stories. Although enthusiastic, the only one who seemed to be paying attention to him was Lucas. Will's eyes kept wandering to gaze at Mike who was preoccupied by whispering in El's ear. Max watched all of them, tapping her fingers on the arm of the couch.

When it started to get late, Jonathan came by to pick up Will. Will stood, saying “Welcome back,” to Dustin again, and gathering his things. After saying a quick goodbye to everyone, Will followed Jonathan to the foyer. He moved towards the door but before Will could process what was happening, Mike grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug. “Bye, Will. See you later.”

“Bye, Mike,” Will choked out in the midst of trying not to panic. Once Mike's arms slipped off from around him, he rushed out the door with Jonathan.

“What was that about?” Jonathan asked as they put Will's bike in the trunk and got into the car.

“What was what about?”

Jonathan turned on the car, pulling out of the driveway and starting on their way. “Whatever happened with you and Mike. You guys seemed... tense. Did you have a fight?”

“A fight? No.”

Jonathan eyed him. “Okay? So...?”

“Nothing... I don't know.” He took a deep breath. “Actually...” He stopped, shaking his head. No, he shouldn't. It wasn't the time.

“What is it, Will?”

He glanced at his brother's worried eyes. “It's...” His stomach twisted. _Say it, just say it._ “Jonathan...”

“Yes?”

“I think I'm in love with Mike.”

The car slowed. Jonathan glanced at him, a reassuring smile appearing on his face. “Mike?”

“Yes.”

“You told him?”

Will shook his head. “Not really, no. Well...” He huffed. “I _did_ , sort of. On a mixtape. He hasn't listened to it though.”

“He hasn't? Then why'd he seem so... strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just now. He was acting tense, especially for him. He kept looking at you funny. Are you sure he hasn't listened to it?”

“He told me so himself.”

“Okay.” He squeezed Will's shoulder. “I'm glad you told me.”

When they arrived home, they headed straight to bed. In his room, Will was taking off his coat when he noticed a paper tucked inside the pocket. He took it out, unfolded it, and read the words scrawled inside. _Junkyard. Noon tomorrow._ It was Mike's handwriting. There was no mistaking it.


	6. The Castle and the Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will goes to the junkyard at noon, and Max talks to El.

“Max, do you copy? It's Will. I need to talk to you.” He sat on his bed, Mike's note in one hand and his Supercom in the other. The morning light trickled in through the window.

Max picked up a second later. “Hey, Will. What's going on?”

“It's about Mike. He gave me a note that says to go to the junkyard at noon today.”

“Oh. He did?”

“Yeah, what do you think it means?”

“Well – go to the junkyard at noon.”

“Yeah, I get that. I just mean, what could this be about?”

“Will, I – sorry.” The Supercom went silent.

“Max?” he said. “Hello? Max, are you still there? Max? Do you copy?” When she didn't answer, he chucked the Supercom on his bed. He stared at the note again, wondering what in the world it could be about. Had Mike finally listened to the mixtape?

When noon came around, he made his way to the junkyard, his mind going a mile a minute. His pedaling slowed when he caught sight of Max's bike on the ground ahead. “Max?” he called out, but no one answered. He got off his bike and set it down before peering around. Other than the bike, there was no sign of anyone.

A bang sounded from the old bus. He whipped around to look at it. “Hello? Who's there? Max? Mike?”

Taking a breath, he approached the bus, his muscles tense. He entered slowly, peering around the corner in case someone jumped out to scare him. Instead, he spotted Max standing in the middle of the aisle. He relaxed, shaking his head. “What's going on, Max? I thought I was meeting Mike here.”

She stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Can we talk?”

“What about? About why we're here in the first place?”

“Yeah, about that...” Her eyes drifted about the bus, not meeting Will's. “What happened with Castle Byers?”

“That's what you wanted to talk about?”

She nodded.

“What was with the note, then?”

“Oh, that...”

“Yes, _that_. It's in Mike's handwriting, so I thought he'd be here. What's that about? Did you tell him to write it?”

She shook her head. “Nothing to do with Mike. I copied his writing. I thought it would make you want to meet here more.”

“Is this some kind of joke, Max?”

“Joke? No, not at all.”

“Then what's going on?”

“I told you. I want to talk about what happened with Castle Byers.”

He crossed his arms. “Why didn't you just come over to my house and ask? Instead of making us meet all the way out here in the cold? I'm freezing, Max.”

“I thought – I thought maybe the reason why you didn't tell me what happened with Castle Byers is because you were afraid someone else would hear. Well, no one can hear us here.”

“Right, well, that's a bit creepy.”

“ _Will_.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. You really want to know what happened to Castle Byers?”

Max nodded.

“Alright. Remember that fight Mike and El had at the mall when El dumped his ass?”

She chuckled. “Yeah, how could I forget?”

“Well, the day after, I wanted to get everyone's minds off of girls, in general, 'cause that's all Mike and Lucas would talk about, so I made them play this DnD campaign I'd been planning. I know they weren't in the mood, but I thought playing it would make them happy like it used to. Instead, they still couldn't stop thinking about El and you. I got angry about it and stormed off, but Mike followed me out to his garage, and we had this stupid fight and I thought he said something but I'm not sure what he meant by it now, but I was pissed so I went home. Then I went to Castle Byers to calm down, but I couldn't stop thinking about what Mike said.”

“What'd he say?”

“I don't know if he meant it a certain way, but... he said it wasn't his fault I don't like girls.”

Max's eyebrows drew together. “He said that? Why?”

“I don't know. I was yelling at him about being obsessed with El.”

She let out a groan. “He can be a real idiot, can't he?”

“So can I,” Will said. “I destroyed Castle Byers. All because of our stupid fight.”

“Oh.” Max reached an arm out, hesitating before pulling Will into a hug. She gripped him tighter when he let out a sob. “I'm sorry.”

“What-” he sniveled into her jacket, “what do you h-have to be sorry for?”

She took his face into her hands, staring him in the eyes. He blinked, tears trailing down his cheeks. “I'm sorry you went through that at all. And I'm sorry we weren't close enough then for you to tell me about it.” A frown fell over her face. “Did you tell anyone at all?”

“Yes... well, Mike and Lucas. They saw it... found me after I tore it down.”

Their voices were barely whispers. “Did you talk about it? About why you did it?”

“I couldn't.”

“You didn't let anyone know how you were feeling?”

“How could I?”

Throat tight, tears brimming in her eyes, Max took Will's hands in her's, gripping them tightly. “Please...” Her voice was shaking. “You can't keep something like that to yourself. You have to... you have to talk to people.”

Will's jaw trembled. “It's not as easy for me as it is for you.”

“Easy?” She let out a breathless laugh. “It's never easy for me. It's _so_ goddamn hard. Why do you think I'm always angry? It's because I keep everything bottled up inside, and it eats away at me.”

“You're not so angry.”

“Not now at least.” She nudged his shoulder. “That's because I have you to talk to.”

Blushing, Will gave her a smile. He cleared his throat and wiped his tears on his sleeve. “Can we get out of here? I think I've got hypothermia.”

Max laughed. “Okay. Let's go to the movies then. I was hoping to catch a screening of _Clue_.”

During the movie, Will noticed that Max was antsy, and she kept leaving to use the bathroom. Concerned, Will asked her about it, but she shrugged it off, saying it was because she drank a lot of soda.

Max glanced at her watch the second they got out of the theatre. “Did you need to get home?” Will asked her. “It's fine if you do.”

“No!” She shook her head. “Sorry, no, I don't need to get home.”

“Do you want to come to my house then?”

“How about the arcade?” She already hopped on her bike before Will answered with a shrug. When they got there, they took turns playing Dig Dug, Max giving Will pointers on how to get a higher score. It was nearing five thirty, the sun setting in the sky, when they left. Max suggested they bike around for a bit before heading home, so they weaved their way through neighbourhoods, forming tire tracks in the freshly fallen snow. Max kept her hand on her Supercom, fiddling with the knobs from time to time.

“Mad Max!” a voice, which Will thought belonged to Lucas, shouted over her Supercom. “Fiddlesticks!”

“What?” Glancing over his shoulder, Will saw Max screech to a stop, and in an attempt to stop his own bike, he tumbled into the snow.

“Shit, sorry.” Max helped him to his feet, her hand firmly on the Supercom. She gestured back the way they'd come. “I've got to head home now. See you later.”

“What? Now?”

She sped off without answering. Throwing his hands up, Will gaped at her disappearing down the street. Had she gone mad? What in the world did “fiddlesticks” mean? He grabbed his bike from the ground, got on, and pedaled home.

Before he could shut the front door, Jonathan greeted him by shoving a paper in his hand. Will looked down at it. “What's this?”

“You'll see,” Jonathan said, leaving the room. Will unfolded the paper. _Castle Byers. Now._ It was Mike's handwriting again. At least, what he thought was Mike's handwriting. Could it be Max again? No, she was with him all day. This had to be someone else. Zipping his coat back up, he headed out the door.

His walk through the woods was quiet. Snow fell silently on the ground. Worrisome thoughts filled his mind, but he willed them away. As he drew farther into the woods, he squinted through the trees at what appeared to be lights shining ahead. He slowed his walk. The lights surrounded Castle Byers, but not the ruins of it. No... to Will's astonishment, Castle Byers was fully intact. Pieced together as if by magic. As he approached his childhood hideout, a figure stepped out from behind it, causing him to gasp and stumble back. Mike stood, a candle in his hands, and smiled. He walked toward Will until they were inches apart, the candle flickering between them. “I'm sorry I haven't been around for you as much lately.”

He was as confused as ever. His eyebrows drew together while he shook his head in disbelief. “Mike, what are you doing here? What's going on?”

Mike sighed. The flame danced in front of him. “I've had a lot on my mind. I know I haven't been the greatest friend to you this past year, but all that's changed now. I-” He nudged Will's shoulder. “I've had you on my mind.”

Blood rushed to Will's cheeks. “What do you mean?”

“For awhile now, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to figure it out, I've been... well, Will, I'm in love with you.”

He wanted to smack himself to see if this was real or a dream. Could this be a joke? Some sick prank? He stood there, his mouth agape.

“I understand if you're a bit surprised. I didn't mean to make it seem like all I cared about was El.” Mike paused to allow Will to respond. When he didn't, Mike's eyebrows knitted together. “I would appreciate if you said something. You know, just in case you're taking back what you said on the mixtape.”

Will's eyes grew wide. “You listened to it? I thought you said you hadn't yet.”

“I lied. I listened to it the night you gave it to me.”

“Then why didn't you say anything? Like when you came to my house looking for El.”

Mike's eyes fell to the ground. “Oh, yeah, that. I lied about that, too. I didn't really go to your house for El. I came for you. But then I saw her with you, and I guess I chickened out.”

“She doesn't know yet?”

“Huh? Oh, no, she does. She's known I've liked you for weeks. I only changed my mind to tell you because El and I have been planning this all month.”

“Planning... this?”

“Well, not this exactly, but we were trying to find the best way that I could tell you how I felt about you.”

“You could've just told me.”

“I wasn't sure I even wanted to yet. In case you were... disgusted by me. That is, until you gave me that mixtape.”

Will swallowed. “So... if El's known for weeks... then why didn't you mention you weren't dating anymore? All this time, I thought you guys were still attached by the hip, and it's not just me who thought that either. We all thought you were still going out.”

“I didn't want anyone to get suspicious.”

“I don't think anyone would have been.” Will eyed him when he failed to respond. “Did you fix this all by yourself?”

Mike shook his head. “I got help.”

A smirk pulled at Will's lips. “Oh, I see. That note, last night, to meet at the junkyard today... it wasn't from Max, was it?”

Mike smiled. “How'd you know?”

“Mike, we've been friends since we were five years old. You think I don't know what your handwriting looks like?” He laughed. “So, when did you tell Max?”

“This morning. The others as well. She went to meet you at the junkyard while the rest of us fixed Castle Byers up. And if you were wondering, that's why El and I disappeared on you yesterday. We were planning this.”

“You didn't have to...” He gestured to Castle Byers. “Fix it, I mean.”

Their eyes met, both of their faces glowing in the candlelight. “Yes, I did.”

There was a long silence before Mike cleared his throat. “About that mixtape...” His eyebrows drew together as if waiting for an explanation.

Instead of answering, Will leaned forward, blew out the candle, and pressed his lips to Mike's.

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

Max felt bad about ditching Will earlier, but she knew it was worth it in the end. Once he saw what Mike had done, he would be ecstatic. After they'd finished fixing Castle Byers and distracting Will, she, El, Lucas, and Dustin met up at the Christmas Market in town since it was its last day. They ran up to one of the booths selling fudge and each bought a piece before strolling along the pathway through the other booths. El and Dustin walked side-by-side a few feet ahead of Max and Lucas.

“Have you told her yet?” Lucas asked in a low voice.

Max shook her head. “I wanted to, but I don't think it's a good idea anymore.”

“Why not?”

“She would never think of me like that.”

“Didn't we decide that wasn't the point? And how would you know she doesn't like you back if you haven't talked to her?”

“Well, I invited her to the movies yesterday, and she stood me up.”

He paused, scrunching up his nose. “There's gotta be a perfectly reasonable explanation. She could've just forgotten.”

“She's not like you, Lucas. She doesn't just forget things.”

“Ouch.” He feigns pain before nudging her. “Did you ask her to explain herself?”

“No. She hasn't even mentioned it.”

“And you think she would stand you up on purpose? Really?”

Max sighed. “I don't know.”

“Then _talk to her_.” Without another word, Lucas rushed forward and tapped Dustin on the shoulder, gesturing to some booth with wooden toys. “Check those things out!” He and Dustin ventured to the booth, leaving El and Max on the pathway together.

With a smile, El said, “This is fun.”

Max nodded. “Yep. Really fun.” They took a few more steps before Max glanced at her and halted. “I was wondering why you didn't show up to the movie yesterday.”

Turning to face her, El frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. “I called in the morning and said I couldn't make it because of that thing with Mike. Which meant fixing up Castle Byers.”

“You called?”

El nodded insistently. “Yeah, Billy's dad answered. He said he'd tell you.”

“Oh, Jesus.” Max huffed. Now she understood what happened. “He never told me a thing.”

El's eyes widened. “Oh, I'm sorry! I thought he would. I didn't mean for you to wait.”

“It's fine, really.” She gives her a smile, relieved that El hadn't purposefully stood her up. “I'm glad I know that now.”

“Are you upset?”

A grin spreading across her face, Max shook her head. “Not at all. C'mon, let's see what other treats they have here.” Without a second thought, she grabbed El's hand, and they dashed through the market.

When they got back to Lucas and Dustin, their hands were full with chocolate bars, bags of candy, and more fudge. The four of them found a picnic table to sit at and set their treats down. Lucas caught Max's eye and gestured to El with raised eyebrows, but Max shook her head.

“Oh, Mike and Will are here!” El waved to them.

Mike and Will walked over, hand in hand. Max, El, Lucas, and Dustin cheered, giving them both hugs. Dustin slung his arms over both their shoulders, grinning. “So I see it worked! Took you long enough.”

Mike shrugged. “Better late than never.”

“Since when were you such a cliché?” Will said with a laugh.

Ruffling Will's hair, Mike nodded to the booths. “Have you guys already checked everything out?”

“Pretty much,” Lucas said, “but there's a lot of cool stuff here you have to see.”

Each grabbing the treats Max and El bought, they went to look at the booths, snow falling onto their hats and hair and crunching under their feet. While the others stared at old nutcrackers, Will joined Max's side, grinning at her. “Now I know why you were acting so weird today.”

She laughed. “Sorry about that. I didn't want to ruin the surprise.”

“You know-” A smirk appeared on his lips. “You have an even better chance with El than we thought, now that we know her and Mike aren't a thing.”

Max rolled her eyes. “Hardly.”

“Have you told her yet?”

“No. I don't know when a good time is. Plus, I don't even know if she'll understand.”

“Of course she will.”

“And how would you know that?”

“Because I know she's an understanding person. Plus, who knows, maybe she likes you back, and neither one of you will know until one of you tells the other.” He poked her in the arm. “There's only one more day until the new year. If I were you, I'd just get it over with.”


	7. Now or Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max goes to the cabin to talk to El.

Max paced her room, Supercom in hand, trying to figure out how in the world she could tell El she liked her. She didn't have time to come up with anything as elaborate as what Mike did with Will, and she didn't know how to make a mixtape. Going to the cabin and just outright telling her seemed too lame compared to how Mike and Will told each other. It would also be embarrassing if Hopper overheard her, especially since she knew how he reacted when Mike and El were dating. Sighing, she turned on her Supercom. “Will? It's Max. Do you copy?”

“Yeah, I copy.” He cleared his throat. “What is it? Over.”

“I don't know how to tell El I like her.”

“Oh. I mean, can't you just say it?”

“I don't know. That seems a bit underwhelming compared to what you and Mike did for each other, doesn't it?”

Will let out a laugh. “Max, are you saying you think it's too _easy_ to tell her?”

“No, I don't mean it like that. It's just... I don't want to look like I'm not trying.”

“Max, believe me, I doubt El will care about that. You shouldn't compare-” He shrieked out in laughter, making Max jump.

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Are you okay? What are you laughing about?”

“Sorry, it's just Mike. He's here with me.”

“Oh, great. Can you ask him what he did to tell El he liked her?”

Will said something to Mike before talking back through the Supercom. “He says he had to explain that they weren't siblings or friends and asked her to the Snowball. She didn't understand, so he kissed her.”

“Don't think I'll be doing that.”

“Really, Max, I think you should just tell her.”

“What if she doesn't feel the same way?”

Will sighed. “Gimme a second... okay, Mike says he wouldn't be surprised if El liked you, too.”

“Why?”

He mumbled some more to Mike before answering. “He says because she talks about you a lot and says how you're really pretty.”

“She said that?”

“I guess so.”

“But that doesn't mean anything. She can say that about anyone.”

“Honestly, Max, I would just go for it. She doesn't seem like the type of person who'll freak out about it.”

“Right, but when am I supposed to do that? I don't want to go to her house if Hopper's going to be there the whole time.”

“Oh, Hopper's not there right now. He's here at my house with my mom.”

“Really?”

“I'd say you're in the clear, Max.” He paused before adding, “It's now or never.”

“Technically, not true, but okay. I'm gonna do it. See you on the other side.” She put down the Supercom, got dressed, and grabbed her skateboard.

The trek to El's cabin seemed to take hours. Max wrung her hands together, skateboard tucked underneath her arm, huddled into her coat as she went over what she was going to say. Her heart thumped in her chest as she drew closer to the cabin. When she got to the door, she knocked on it gently. “El?” She paused, waiting for an answer. There was a creaking inside. “It's Max. I need to talk to you.”

Footsteps came from the other side of the door and the locks unlatched. El opened it and smiled. “Hi, Max. What do you need to talk about?” She moved out of the way to let Max in, but Max shook her head.

“This is important, so I'm just gonna say it.” She exhaled, setting her skateboard down at her feet and shaking her hands out at her sides. “Ever since this summer, since we became real friends, this feeling has been nagging at me, and I didn't realize what it was for awhile. But now I know, and I can't get it out of my head especially because I realized I'm not the only person like me in Hawkins. Not by a long shot. That's when I knew I had to figure out a way to tell you. So, here I am. El, I love you, and I have for a while now, and I'm not expecting you to feel the same way or anything, but I figured I had to tell you because I owe it to you, and you deserve to be reminded of how wonderful and strong and cool and beautiful you are, and I know I sound crazy, and you don't have to say anything back, but-”

“Max.”

“I just think since you're not together with Mike anymore, that it would be less shitty to say this to you, but I understand if-”

“ _Max._ ”

“I understand if... yeah?”

“I love you, too.” She grabbed the sides of Max's face and pulled her forward in a kiss. Max's heart leapt into her throat, letting out a small gasp before relaxing into El's touch. They smiled against each other's lips.

When they pulled apart, El's eyes lit up, and she held up a hand. “I have something to show you.” She led Max into the cabin and to her room where she grabbed two pieces of paper off her nightstand and handed them to Max. One was a drawing of El, and the other a drawing of Max.

“What's this?” Max asked, examining them. She brushed her fingertips over the paper, fascinated by the vividness of color in both drawings.

“Will drew it. He drew one of you, too. I thought you can keep mine, and I can keep yours.”

Max smiled and pecked El on the cheek. “I'd love that.”


	8. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone gathers at the Wheeler's house for New Year's Eve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long hiatus! Thank you to everyone who's supported this fic and given feedback; it's very much appreciated!

On New Year's Eve, Will sat at the kitchen table while Jonathan covered the dish of lasagna they were taking to the Wheeler's, and Joyce rushed about to find her keys. “Have you checked under the couch?” Jonathan called.

“Ahah! Got them!” Joyce came into the kitchen, waving the keys in her hand. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, all ready.” Jonathan grabbed the lasagna dish and started for the door, but Will kept still. Nerves twisted his stomach.

“Um, actually,” he said, clearing his throat. His mom and brother turned to look at him. “I wanted to talk about something before we go.”

Jonathan and Joyce met confused looks before heading back into the kitchen. Sitting down beside Will, Joyce took his hand in hers. “What is it? Are you okay? Did something happen?”

“Actually, yes.” He waved a hand when panic fell over Joyce's face. Jonathan moved to stand beside them. “Nothing bad. It's a good thing, I think.”

His mom and brother both stared at him. He took a deep breath. “Well, it's about Mike and me. We're... well, we're sort of going out, I guess. Like, not just as friends.”

Joyce relaxed and smiled. “Oh, sweetie, that's great.” She pulled him into a hug. “Thank you for telling me.”

Jonathan ruffled Will's hair. “I'm happy for you, bud.”

Smiling, Will and his mom stood up, and the three of them headed out the door.

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

As Max finished doing her hair in the mirror, a knock sounded at the front door. She pulled on her coat, snatched the drawing from her bed, and dashed to the door. On the porch, Will stood with a smile on his face. “Hey, Max.”

“Hi, Will.” They headed to the Byers' car. “You look happy. Did you have a good time with Mike yesterday?”

Will laughed. “Yeah, yeah, I did. It's sort of crazy. I almost can't believe it's real.”

“I know, me neither.”

“Actually, I just told my mom and Jonathan.”

Her eyes grow wide. “Really? How'd it go?”

“It was great.” He shrugged. “I wouldn't expect less from them.”

“I'm glad. It's good that you have such a good family.”

Slowing down, Will turned to face Max. “I want to thank you for getting us to do this. For coming up with the idea.”

“The deal, you mean?”

Will nodded.

“Well, if we hadn't heard Robin and Steve talking at _Family Video,_ I may have never thought of telling you about my feelings, and none of this would've happened.”

“Guess we'll have to thank Robin and Steve then.”

Max was grinning as they got inside the car. She greeted Will's mom and Jonathan. “Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Byers.”

“No worries.” Joyce smiled at her and started the car. Snow covered the streets, flakes falling gently onto the car windows.

Will nudged Max. “You look happy, too.”

“Well, no reason not to be.”

He motioned to the paper in her hand. “What's that there?”

“Oh, yeah!” She handed it to him, and he saw that it was his drawing of Mike that he'd given El. “El said she was going to give this to Mike, but she figured now that you guys are _finally_ together, you should give it to Mike yourself. Since it's so pretty or something. She showed me the other drawings you did, too. They're amazing, truly.”

His cheeks grew pink, the corners of his mouth lifting. “Thank you. That... it means a lot.” He lowered his voice. “So, how are things with El?”

“Given it's only been a day since we got together, everything's great.” And they were great. After admitting their feelings to each other, Max and El had spent the rest of the day before watching movies, listening to music, laughing their asses off, and stealing kisses.

He smiled. “That's good. I'm happy for you two. You're really great together.”

“Thanks.” She smirked, knocking their shoulders together. “How are things with you and Mike?”

Will grinned. “Better than ever.”

🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁

Everyone gathered in the Wheeler's house for a New Year's party. The Christmas tree stood twinkling in the living room. The smell of cake wafted through the house. Jonathan, Nancy, and the adults, save for Ted who was napping on his LazEboy, were chatting in the kitchen. In the basement, Will, Max, and El were on the couch, Mike seated in the chair beside them, while Dustin and Lucas were messing with the radio by the D&D table.

“I still can't believe you two didn't tell us you weren't dating anymore,” Max said to El and Mike. El had her head rested on Max's shoulder. “It would've made things a lot easier if you had.”

“How were we supposed to know if you guys liked us back?” Mike said.

“You literally could've just asked us.”

“It all worked out in the end though, didn't it?” Grinning, Mike slung an arm around Will's shoulders. “I'm just glad you gave me that mixtape.”

Will let out a laugh. “Took you a while to do anything about it though.”

“Hey, you were the one who turned off your Supercom when I tried to talk to you.” Mike gestured to El and Max. “What about you two? You guys took longer to get together than we did!”

“Actually, if you're counting the amount of time we've been friends, it only took us a few months,” Max said. “You guys, on the other hand, have been friends for years.”

“That's because Mike and Will are both cowards,” Lucas called from the table.

“Thanks for that, Lucas,” Mike said back.

El sat up. “Mike, did you like the drawing Will made of you?”

When Mike furrowed his eyebrows, Will sat up and pulled the drawing out of his jacket. “I almost forgot to give it to you. Here.” He handed Mike the drawing, looking away quickly. He'd never given Mike a drawing of him before, only their D&D characters.

“Oh, wow...” Mike stared at it, looking it up and down. “Will, this is amazing.”

“It's nothing, really, it's just-”

“No, it's amazing.” Mike pulled him into a hug. “I love it.”

“Aww!” Max said, giggling. “You guys are too cute!”

Mike rolled his eyes but a smile tugged at his lips. “Shut up.”

“Santa Baby” started playing out of the radio. Max straightened up. “Don't change the station!” She grabbed El's hand and the both of them hopped up, facing each other and shouting the lyrics to the song.

“Why are they still playing Christmas music?” Mike asked. “It's already New Year's.”

“Because everyone loves Christmas music.” Max and El hopped in front of Will, both of them extending their arms to him. Will put his hands up, shaking his head, so they wiggled their fingers at him and shouted the lyrics louder.

“No, no way.” Will laughed.

The girls shook their heads, grabbed his arms, and pulled him to his feet, all the while shouting, “Been an angel all year, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight!”

They danced around the room, throwing their arms in the air. Max and Will gestured at Lucas to stand up.

Laughing, Lucas rolled his eyes before joining their singing. Dustin joined in a second later, and after coaxing from Will and El, Mike joined as well. They were all laughing once the song ended.

“Hey, guys!” Jonathan shouted down the stairs. “Almost midnight!”

Everyone got up, Dustin turning off the radio, and started for the stairs. Will and El followed behind Lucas and Dustin, but before they could get up the stairs, Mike grabbed Will, and El grabbed Max, and they wrapped their arms around each other and kissed as everyone upstairs started counting down to midnight. The four of them, laughing, rushed up the stairs and into the kitchen with everyone else. “Three, two, one! Happy New Year!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's interested, you can send me requests for fics! My tumblr is https://catchip2.tumblr.com/ if you want to message me:) And to anyone interested in a Will-centric season 3 fanfic, you can check out American Heroes: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19848346/chapters/47001313


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